Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Ok... So I am getting married in June, and I was having such a hard time finding cheap, but nice decorations for the church and reception site.

Flowers are gorgeous, but cost so much!

Christmas lights are nice, but give off a load of heat, and for a June wedding... not a good idea.

Fabric swags seemed like a way to go, cost is ok, but its been done so much, I wanted something different.

Then I found something that I truely fell in love with. Chinese white paper lanterns. I loved them... they look great, are pretty cheap, and they give a great feel to the room if you hang them right. I only had one problem. Again they are the hit of the season, so everyone is doing them.

I decided to put my own little spin on them. Since it will still be daylight outside during my reception I needed something that caught your attention, but didn't make the room look overwhelming. I started out with trial and error. I tried papper mache (the glue and water kind) with strips of paper trying to make something like this.

That I could spray paint white and hang from the ceiling.

Well of course, I failed at first, just making a ball of paper in the end. So my mind switched to something more string like, Yarn! I said. So I tried with yarn, and this time switching to a flour and water mixture. It worked, but did not spray paint well... So I decided to use some old twine I had left over from a few years ago. Eureka! It looked great! It spray painted wonderously and cost me nothing! Now I just need to make a few (thousand) more.

After I make a few more I will post pictures here, and maybe put a little tutorial up for other DIY Brides out there.

Friday, April 24, 2009

This is Teeny the Tiny Turtle. He is my first free pattern, and he is really easy to create.

Materials:

2 differnt colored yarns (I used a light green for his head, and a dark green for his shell)

G Crochet hook (you can use others, but the size will change)

Black yarn and needle to embroider the facial expression

Stuffing (I use fiber fill)

Size:

He is about 4 inches long, and 2 inches tall

Pattern:

This pattern is formed in rounds using a marker to mark your starting stitch, remarking each time you come around. Also uses the magic circle method which can be found on the internet.

Shell:

Round 1: Using magic circle method, sc 6 into circle and pull tight to form a ring. Mark the first stitch. (6 sc)

Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around (12 sc)

Round 3: *2 sc in first sc, sc in next* repeat around (18 sc)

Round 4: sc in each sc around (18 sc)

Round 5: *2 sc in first sc, sc in next 2 sc* repeat around (24 sc)

Round 6: sc in each sc around (24 sc)

Round 7: *3 sc in first sc, sc in next 3 sc* repeat around (30 sc)

Round 8-10: sc in each sc around (30 sc)

Round 11: In Back loops only, *sc2tog in first sc, sc in next 3 sc* repeat around (24 sc)

Round 12: Back to normal, *sc2tog in first sc, sc in next 2 sc* repeat around (18 sc)

Round 13: *sc2tog in first sc, sc in each sc* repeat around (12 sc)

Stuff now

Round 14: sc2tog in each sc around (6 sc)

Fasten off, close the hole in the shell and hide your yarn tail.

Head:

Round 1: Using magic circle, sc 6 in the circle to form a ring. Mark your first stitch. (6 sc)

Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around (12 sc)

Round 3: *2 sc in first sc, sc in next* repeat around (18 sc)

Round 4: *2 sc in first sc, sc in next 2 sc* repeat around (24 sc)

Round 5-7: sc in each sc around (24 sc)

Round 8: *sc2tog in first sc, sc in next 2 sc* repeat around (18 sc)

Round 9: *sc2tog in first sc, sc in next sc* repeat around (12 sc)

Stuff now

Round 10: sc2tog in each sc around (6 sc)

Round 11-13: sc in each sc around (6 sc)

Fasten off and leave long tail for attachment.

Finishing:

Attach the neck of the head to the underneath of the shell and stitch it on so that the head sits properly. (I find that I have to stitch his head to the side of his shell) Embroider the face, and your done!

This being my first blog ever I thought I would look back on a few firsts in my crafting career. Like my first amigurumi:

This little guy took me about 4 hours to complete and I had to unravel him a few times. I think his tail was the most tricky! He is a free pattern that I found on the web, Chubby fish is what she called him. It suits him well!

My first sale was my recycled magazine coasters.

These coasters are great! You can even see words on them! I tried to find a pattern/tutorial online for them, but all I could find was the circle ones. I am horrible at making circle coasters. They always come out wrinkly. The square ones are straight and perfect! I created my own tutorial and it is on my etsy site melunder8.etsy.com. The coasters are also for sale there if you don't have the time to make them.

Last but not least my favorite first.... my first creation using my own pattern!

This Tiny Turtle is only about 4 inches long and 2 inches tall but isn't he adorable! He was super easy to make and I made him almost purely by accident! I was trying to make a bigger turtle, but kept getting frustrated, so I decided to make him really little instead and just modify the shell pattern. After that I just made him a head and said screw the legs, lol. He is super cute this way and I hope creating patterns in the future is as easy, but I doubt it.

Free Pattern Use Info

All my free patterns are my original creations. You are more than welcome to make them for yourself, someone you know, or for charity! If you would like to sell items made from my free patterns please just make sure to give me credit for the pattern and add a link to either my blog, or my etsy shop.I love sharing my patterns with you, and want to continue to do so. Please just respect my creative rights.Thank youMelissa Wenn